Kevin Yuen Kit Lo: Coco Riot

Freda Guttman Dept: Improbable as it seems, the draw is a panel discussion. No music, no stand-up, no spoken word. Just earnest Kevin Yuen Kit Lo as moderator, carefully drawing out the personal experiences of his guests: visual artists Coco Riot and Freda Guttman, filmmaker Malcolm Guy and poet Vincent Tinguely. Grey heads, except for Lo and Riot, who looks 20-something and describes herself as "a queer Hispanic migrant artist." Guttman has a 40-year track record as installation artist, printmaker and political activist. President of Productions Multi-Monde, Guy is known for documentary films treating immigrant issues, dating from the late '80s, according to Montreal Gazette. "Reality is a narcotic," Tinguely tells the crowd. "Entertainment numbs." Art cannot be aloof from what's happening in the street. "It must be a weapon to tear holes in the web of illusion," he says, quoting liberally from an essay he wrote for the occasion and on a chilly Thursday night in January, the country kitchen temperature in Caf Cagibi's backroom is pushed upwards by a standing-roomonly crowd. While most people wrestle with bulky coats and backpacks, early arrivals who snagged a seat on the couch must crane for a glimpse of the featured event. Climate change, police violence, corporate excess, gentrification - none of the above are specifically on the menu, yet all are in the air. Consensus among the span of ages is as thick as a fresh-cut slice of whole wheat bread. The topic is art and activism. Not if but how art can be used to rouse awareness and draw people into action on the burning socio-political issues of our time. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.